Investigations on the Variability of Haptoglobin, Transferrin and Gc Polymorphisms in Assam, India

Abstract

Ten different population groups of Assam – Brahmins, Kalitas, Kaibartas, Rajbanshis, Muslims, Ahoms, Chutias, Kacharis, Karbis and Sandwals – have been typed for haptoglobin and for transferrin (Tf) and Gc subtype polymorphisms. Tf and Gc allele subtype frequencies show a considerable inter-population heterogeneity. From genetic distance analysis it appears that the populations under study form some distinct clusters, which can be explained by the historical and ethnic affiliations of these populations. Especially the distribution of Gc subtype alleles reveals some Mongoloid admixture among Assamese populations, which is reflected by the presence of Gc^1A8 alleles in them.

The distribution of some serum protein and red cell enzyme polymorphisms in the Koch ethnic group of west Bengal, India

“…Mukherjee et al (1987) have reported a Hp ~ frequency of 0.35 in the related Rajbanshis of West Bengal which is higher than that in the other nine populations. The frequencies of Gc lr have been found to range from 0.30 to 0.35 which falls within the reported frequencies of the allele in the Mongoloid population of eastern India (Saha, 1987a;Walter et al, 1986). The Mongoloid population of South East Asia, the Chinese and Japanese have much higher frequencies of Gc ~F (Saha, 1989a).…”

“…The frequencies of Tf cl and Tf c2 were found to be 0.69 and 0.24 in the Poliya compared to 0.63 and 0.30 in the Deshi, TJ "Dc~ was found to be 0.06 in both the Poliya and Deshi. A much lower frequency of Tf el has been observed in the Assamese and Manipuri (0.54) with corresponding higher Tf c2 (0.42 to 0.45) (Walter et al, 1986). The Mongoloids of East and South-east Asia have much higher frequencies of Tf ex (Saha, 1987b).…”

Genetic relationships of the populations in eastern India

“…The Muslim population was not taken into consideration, for their background history or genetic composition is not clear, excepting their affiliation to one religious faith. The gene frequency data of five blood group loci, A1A2BO, MNS, RH, FY and DI, for nine populations in Assam were obtained from Das et al (1987), those of three protein loci, HP, TF and GC, from Walter et al (1986), those of three enzyme loci, ACP, AK, and ESD, from Mukherjee et aL (1989), those of two loci of immunoglobulins, GM and KM, from Walter et al (1987) and those of haemoglobin E from Deka et al (1988). The gene frequency data of all these 14 loci for the Brahmin and Meiteis in Manipur were taken from Singh et al (1986).…”

Antiquity, geographic contiguity and genetic affinity among Tibeto-Burman populations of India: A microsatellite study

“…Studies of the diverse population structure of these populations are of great significance in understanding the peopling of India, affinity and diversity among the regional populations, and their relationship with southeast Asian populations. However, there are very few such studies of the extent and magnitude of this genetic diversity and/or genetic affinity (Das et al 1980;Roychoudhury 1981;Walter et al 1986;Deka et al 1988;Roychoudhury 1992;Kumar et al 2004). …”